2012 Potholder Swap

The Parable of the Potholders
In 2012, swappers bringeth forth not ugly potholders; neither doth a loose gauge bring forth study potholders. For every crocheter is known by her potholders. For of acrylic they do not make potholders, nor of wool crochet their potholders, but of cotton. A good swapper, out of the goodness of her hook bringeth forth that which is beautiful, and she who does not follow the directions crocheteth that which will be not swapped. For of the abundance of their hearts they crocheteth five potholders and send them to Los Angeles. – Lizardman

The potholders I made for the 2011 Potholder Swap – so cute!
Easy-peasy pattern too – Scalloped Potholder.

The lovely potholders I received from the 2011 Potholder Swap – fabo!

Yup, it’s that time again!! Potholder Swap Time!!! Things are a little bit different this time because Eve and I are guest hosting this year’s swap! WOOT WOOT WOOT!!!

How did this happen, you may ask. Well, here’s the Reader’s Digest version of how it all went down: 1) Eve let me know that the girls that usually host the swap were looking for guest host this year so that they could get a much needed break; 2) We thought about it individually; 3) We talked about it via email; 4) Eve recruited a couple of folks to help with the online stuff; 5) We then decided that this is something we definitely have to do!!! Eve and I are very swap oriented people (if you can’t tell from previous post) and we are both Little Miss Bossy Pants types of girls so hosting is way up our alley.

So, since the deadline is coming up soon I wanted to give you the DL on how this all goes down!

< SIGNING UP >
There’s no need to sign up or notify anyone in any way that you intend to swap. Have your potholders at the destination below by April 21st and you’ll be swapping. If you don’t have them there on time, they’ll be returned to you.

< YOUR POTHOLDERS >

Each participant is required to crochet 5 potholders in the same pattern. Please do vary the colors as you see fit. Please be sure your hot pads and potholders measure between 6 and 8 inches across and are double thick. THEY MUST BE WITHIN THESE SIZE PARAMETERS OR THEY WILL BE RETURNED TO YOU. Please make your potholders at a reasonably tight gauge.

We’ll be using 100% cotton yarns exclusively. No blends.

Label each pad/holder with maker and care instructions. Feel free to include yarn and pattern info. Affix the label with a safety pin or tie it on. No straight pins, please.

These are absolute requirements and if you don’t follow them, we will send your items back to you.

< ACTUAL SWAPPING >
After the potholders are received, your hosts are going to get together and have a grand time looking at all of your gorgeous work and selecting 5 different beauties to send back to you.

The goal of this swap is to produce and receive little pieces of crocheted/knitted art. Use beautiful yarns, color combinations and patterns. Don’t feel pressured to use teensy little crochet cotton either. Thicker cottons like Tahki Cotton Classic , Rowan Cotton Glace, and Elann Sonata make great potholders. Have a ton of fun.

< POSTAGE + ENVELOPES >

US participants need to include a self-addressed, postage-paid, large First Class Envelope. You also need to provide your own Self-Addressed Stamped Envelope (SASE). Please do NOT use those super-bulky 1/4″ thick full-of-shredded-insulation type envelopes for the SASE, as they will cause over-weight and require extra postage (the envelopes themselves weigh 3 ounces or something ridiculous). Best are plastic envelopes or Tyvek®-style (though NOT the free priority ones the PO provides). Please put the P.O. as the “sent from” address on the SASE. Do not leave it blank – the USPS will not accept a package without a return address. AND, if the return address and the mailing address are the same and the postage is short your package will get stuck in the DEAD MAIL box – which does not sound like a fun place at all.

The current first class rate for a large envelope weighing up to 13 oz. is $3.75. We will make sure all packages stay under 13 oz. so that we’re sure your postage is covered. You will have to purchase the stamp(s) to cover this.

Also, as much as we love people sending us cash, do not send cash for postage instead of buying your own stamps. Your return envelope should be complete: mailing address, return address and adequate postage.

We’ll need to receive your potholders by April 21st. Please mail them to:

Swap Headquarters
PO BOX 1492
La Canada Flintridge, CA 91012

Also please include your Ravelry-name on the outside of the envelope that you are mailing all your stuff in (if you have a Ravelry account – if not, you should tooooootally get one). That way we can keep an easy list of whose package arrived and you can see when we got your package.

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There you have it! Pretty much everything you need to know to play along with us!

If you have any questions or if you just want to talk to all of use over on Ravelry, here’s our potholder/washcloth group (you don’t have to be on Ravelry to participate in the swap).

But if you’re not on Ravelry yet (whaaaaa??? that’s just crazy talk!), now is the time to join. Seriously. Do it. Do it. Do it.